Two Red Roses
by Piper Elizabeth
Summary: Michaela and Sully’s second anniversary is cut short due to an emergency in town, which threatens Matthew’s life.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Two Red Roses

Summary: Michaela and Sully's second anniversary is cut short due to an emergency in town, which threatens Matthew's life.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Dr. Quinn or any of its affiliated characters.

**Chapter 1**

Sully brushed his horse's mane as he had done after every long journey. It had been a tiring day for both the horse and Sully. The day had begun early before anyone else had woken up and had ended long after everyone had gone to bed. The sun had set almost six hours before.

As Sully looked up at the homestead that he had spent so much time building, he smiled, knowing that his family was safely sleeping inside.

When he finished brushing the horse and cooling him down, Sully put the brush back where it belonged and quietly made his way out of the barn. He turned towards the barn to close the door when he heard footsteps. He quickly turned, his hand resting on top of the tomahawk that hung on his hip.

"You make it very difficult to sneak up on," a female voice said.

Sully's hand immediately left his tomahawk as he reached out to take his wife's hand.

"If you'd like, I can turn around and let you sneak up on me all over again."

"Maybe next time."

He leaned towards her and kissed her deeply.

"I missed you," he whispered.

"And I missed you."

"Why aren't you sleepin'?"

"I tried but I couldn't sleep without you there with me."

"Well, let's get back inside and we can work on that little sleepin' problem."

She smiled as he took her hand and they walked together towards the homestead. They were silent, so as not to wake Katie, Colleen, or Brian, as they walked up the stairs and into their bedroom. As Sully hung his beads on the bedpost and took off his shirt, Michaela took off her robe and laid it across the end of the bed. She climbed into bed and waited for Sully to climb in next to her. Sleep was the furthest thing on her mind.

The next morning, Michaela woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. She slowly opened her eyes, still feeling Sully's arms around her. She rolled over and Sully pulled her closer.

"Good mornin'," he said as she cuddled closer to him.

"Morning."

"Happy anniversary."

He handed her two red roses.

"I wasn't sure if you'd remember."

"How could I forget? Two years ago today, I became whole again."

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed each of her knuckles.

"You've just been so busy…"

"I'm never too busy to celebrate our marriage," he whispered, kissing her on the lips. He paused. "I made you this." He picked up a tray from the floor and placed it on the bed. A plate of steaming hot eggs and bacon was on the tray with two more red roses on top.

"The roses are beautiful," Michaela commented.

"So are you." Sully leaned over and kissed her deeply, bringing his hand to cup her cheek.

"Ma! Ma!" Colleen yelled, pounding on the door. Michaela pulled away from Sully but he held on tightly to her arm.

"Tell her you'll be down later," he whispered.

"It sounds important," Michaela insisted.

"So is this," Sully said as he placed small kisses down her neck.

"Ma! There's been a fire and…"

Both Michaela and Sully jumped out of bed. Sully quickly struggled to put his shirt on while Michaela completely ignored her robe, which had fallen to the floor during the middle of the night, and swung the bedroom door open.

Colleen was standing in the hallway, panic set on her face.

"What happened, Colleen?" Michaela asked.

"Horace rode up while I was outside milkin' the cow. He said there was a fire at one of the houses outside of town. They're tryin' to put the flames out but Horace said the family's been hurt real bad. He rode back into town to help out but he said we gotta hurry, ma."

"I'll be right there," Michaela said, quickly rushing back into the bedroom to get changed.

Sully stepped outside into the hallway and shut the door. He placed his hand on Colleen's shoulder to comfort her but he was just as shaken up.

"Where's Brian?" Sully asked.

"He's still asleep."

"Alright, go wake him and then get Katie. I'm gonna go out and saddle Flash for your ma and get the wagon ready for us to follow her. She'll get ta town quicker on her own without the wagon. Get Katie and Brian and I'll meet ya at the wagon." Colleen nodded. "Everythin's gonna be alright, Colleen." She gave Sully a swift hug and then raced down the hallway.

Meanwhile, Michaela finished putting on her shoes. She ran out of the room, not bothering to even brush her hair. She stopped in the kitchen only to grab her medical bag and check that it had all the supplies that she would need. As she flung the front door open, Sully led a saddled and ready Flash out of the barn.

"We'll meet ya there in the wagon," Sully said, handing Michaela Flash's reins.

"Have Colleen stay with Katie and Brian at the clinic," she instructed, as Sully gave her a boost on to the horse's back.

"I'll be there as soon as I can ta help." Michaela secured her medical bag to the saddle. "Be careful, Michaela."

She nodded before galloping away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Michaela pushed Flash to run as fast as possible through town. She could see the dark, grey smoke hovering above the trees in the distance. Although she would never usually run through town that fast, the town had all but been abandoned. Everyone was helping to put out the fire. Not knowing how long the fire had already been burning, Michaela prayed that she wasn't too late.

As Michaela approached the house, the smoke got thicker and the smell of burning wood grew stronger. Michaela could hear people shouting to one another but she couldn't see anything through the thick smoke.

Minutes later, as Michaela rode past town, the burning house came into view but it was barely recognizable as a house. Only the basic skeleton of the house remained and even that was burning.

Michaela tethered Flash to a tree far from the burning rubble and ran over towards the house. She immediately spotted Jake and Robert E passing buckets full of water to other people who threw them on the flames.

"Dr. Mike!" Dorothy yelled. Michaela ran over to her. Dorothy's face was covered in black soot, as was her hair and clothes.

"Where's the family?" Michaela asked, shouting over the sounds of the flames and the yells of everyone around her.

"There's no one left, Michaela," Dorothy replied. "They pulled out four bodies."

"Bodies?"

Dorothy pointed to a blanket that was lying on the ground. Michaela walked over to it and picked the corner of the blanket up. Dorothy turned away.

"I'm too late," Michaela said.

"There's nothing you could have done, Michaela. There's nothing any of us could have done." Michaela still couldn't help but feel as if she should have been there earlier.

"Dr. Mike!" Matthew yelled, running over to her, his face dirtier than Dorothy's.

"Matthew, are you alright?" Michaela asked, checking him over from head to toe to make sure that he wasn't injured.

"I'm fine."

"Is anyone hurt?"

"There's a few men who collapsed due to the smoke and Hank's got a pretty bad burn on his arm but Andrew's takin' a look at 'em," Matthew shouted.

"I'll go help him," Michaela said, scanning the crowd for where Andrew was.

"HELP!" A female voice screamed. Everyone immediately turned towards the house where there was a woman screaming. She waved her arm out of what used to be a window in the house. She screamed one more time before her arm disappeared.

"There's someone still in the house," Dorothy gasped, staring at the house.

"We gotta help her," Matthew yelled.

"It's too dangerous," Dorothy responded as she watched the flames grow.

"I'm going in!" Matthew hollered.

"Matthew, no!" Michaela screamed.

Matthew ran to Jake who held a full bucket of water. Matthew dumped the water over his head to better protect him from the fire.

"Are you crazy?" Jake yelled, trying to pull Matthew away from the house. "You'll get killed!"

"No, Matthew, please!" Michaela pleaded, following him.

"I gotta help her, Dr. Mike," Matthew said.

"It's too dangerous," Michaela proclaimed.

"And waistin' time out here is only makin' it more dangerous." Matthew looked up towards where the woman had screamed. Matthew put a damp handkerchief that was tied around his neck around his nose and mouth. "I've got to help her, Dr. Mike," Matthew insisted, walking towards the house.

"That boy's crazy," Jake remarked. "He's gonna get himself killed."

"Just throw water at him!" Michaela shouted, trying to ignore what Jake had said even though she knew that he was right. Matthew was walking into a death trap.

Michaela watched as Matthew ran into the house, her heart breaking.

"Let's keep the water flowing, gentleman!" Robert E shouted, looking at Michaela's solemn face.

"Michaela!" Michaela turned to see who had called her name. The smoke was so thick that she couldn't tell who it was. She walked towards the sound and finally saw Andrew crouching on the ground beside a man whom Michaela recognized as a nearby rancher.

"He just collapsed," Andrew explained, still shouting over the chaos.

"Smoke inhalation," Michaela diagnosed.

Michaela quickly opened her medical bag and pulled out a clean cloth. She dipped it in a nearby bucket full of water that Andrew was using and began to pat the man's head with the cool cloth.

"I've never seen such a devastating fire," Andrew said as he treated a different man with the same problem. "By the time I got here and we got the family out they were…"

"There's someone still alive in the house," Michaela stated as she tried to get the man to drink some water.

"Alive?"

"Matthew went in after her."

Andrew looked at Michaela's pained face as she spoke. "I'm sure he'll come out any minute, Michaela."

She nodded and silently tended to her patient.

"He'll be fine," she declared as the man began to cough and sit up.

"Michaela," Andrew said, pointing to the edge of the woods.

Sully ran over to her.

"You alright?"

Michaela shook her head. "Matthew went in."

"Went into the house?" Sully replied.

"There was someone still alive and he went in. I tried to stop him but he…" She buried her head in his chest.

"I'll go in after him."

"No, Sully!"

"I've go to try and help him, Michaela."

"I can't stand to lose you both!" By this point, tears were streaming down her face at the thought of seriously losing Matthew.

"Dr. Mike!" Robert E shouted.

Michaela immediately turned around. Robert E was running towards her with a limp form in his arms.

"Where's Matthew?" Sully questioned as Robert E put the girl down on the ground. Michaela kneeled beside her and began looking over her injuries. Robert E shook his head, signifying that he didn't know.

"I just saw her at the doorway. I ran in and got her," Robert E explained.

"Did you get burned?" Andrew questioned, noticing Robert E holding his right arm close to his body.

"It's nothin'," Robert E assured him.

"I'm going in," Sully decided.

"Sully!" Michaela cried as Sully raced towards the house.

"Go, Michaela, I'll take care of her," Andrew said.

Michaela picked up the bucket that she had dipped the cloth into earlier and dumped it over her head just as Matthew had done before. She ran towards the house, not really knowing what she was doing but just that she couldn't stand back and do nothing. As she reached the burning doorway, Sully appeared, holding Matthew in his arm.

"Sully!"

"He's not breathin'," Sully yelled.

As he and Michaela ran from the house, it completely collapsed.


	3. Chapter 3

Note: I know nothing about treating burns (or any other wounds for that matter) so I had to take some creative license and make it all up. I hope it's at least believable!

**Chapter 3**

"I need water and clean rags," Michaela commanded. Sully immediately leapt into action. Michaela tried to put her emotions aside and to concentrate on just being a doctor but tears still welled in her eyes. Nothing could change the fact that her son was lying in front of her, dying.

Michaela kneeled beside Matthew on the ground, far from the burning house. She pulled up his eyelids and checked his eyes, which were rolled back in his head. She placed her ear against his chest but it did not rise. Sully reappeared with the water and rags.

"Help me sit him up," Michaela instructed. Sully got behind Matthew and leaned his limp body against his own to sit him up. "Now hit him sharply on the upper back every six seconds. We've got to clear his throat and get him breathing again."

Sully did as told.

Michaela dipped her hands into the bucket of water that Sully had brought and cupped her hands together. The water pooled in her hand and she brought it to Matthew's lips. She tried to pour water into his mouth but the water simply dribbled down his chin and shirt. The second cup of water again did nothing. As Michaela lifted the third cup to his lips, she closed her eyes and prayed.

Matthew's bottom lip quivered.

"Michaela," Sully whispered, noticing the movement.

Michaela opened her eyes as Matthew tried to take a deep breath. He began to cough, his whole body shaking.

"Nice and slow, Matthew," Michaela soothed, "breathe nice and slow."

He coughed a deep, hacking cough for nearly five minutes before Michaela was able to give him a real sip of water. His throat was burning but the water felt cool sliding down his throat.

"My legs," Matthew stammered with a raspy, quiet voice. "Dr. Mike, I can't feel my legs."

For the first time, Michaela looked at the rest of Matthew's body. She was so busy trying to get him to breathe that she hadn't really considered his other injuries. She took a look at his legs and then turned to Sully.

"We've got to get him to the clinic."

"My legs. Am I going to lose my legs?" Michaela could barely understand Matthew. She knew that he had an extreme amount of smoke in his lungs and it made speaking difficult, but she still understood what he was asking.

Michaela shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted, wishing that she had better news. She wanted to be able to tell Matthew that everything was going to be okay as if he was a small child sitting on her lap, but she couldn't lie to him.

"Sully, get the wagon," Michaela commanded. Sully gently slid out from underneath Matthew and laid him back on the ground. He raced off to get the wagon. Michaela began dipping the rags that Sully had brought and putting them on Matthew's legs. He winced with pain.

"The girl. What about the girl?" Matthew asked through gritted teeth.

"Andrew's looking after her," Michaela replied.

"Is she alive?"

Again Michaela shook her head. "I don't know."

Michaela turned to try to see Andrew and the girl but the smoke was too thick to see much of anything. Michaela then looked over at the house and noticed that the fire was almost completely out. The only thing left of the house was a pile of charred wood.

Sully arrived with the wagon and, with Michaela carefully picking up Matthew's legs, they were able to get Matthew lying down in the back of the wagon without too much pain. Michaela climbed in the back with Matthew while Sully hopped up on the driver's seat to grab the reins. As they were about to take off, Michaela heard her name being shouted. Andrew came running towards the wagon.

"The girl, she needs to get to the clinic. The hotel's too far away. She won't make it," Andrew yelled.

"We'll put her on the wagon," Sully replied, jumping down from the wagon.

"Hurry, Sully," Michaela called after him as he and Andrew ran yet again into the smoke.

"She's alive?" Matthew questioned, still coughing.

"Yes," Michaela responded.

Sully appeared through the smoke holding the girl limp in his arms. Michaela helped Matthew move over in the wagon and Sully laid her down next to him. Her eyes were open but her breathing was shallow and she was even more burned than Matthew.

"I'm going to stay here," Andrew decided. "There are still a few people who need help. I'll get to the clinic as soon as I can."

"Good luck, Andrew," Michaela said.

"I think it's you who needs the luck," Andrew replied.

Sully hopped on the wagon once more and snapped the reins. The wagon lurched forward. Michaela took one of the wet rags that she had taken onto the wagon with her and placed it on the girl's arm, which was badly burned.

The girl slowly turned her head towards Matthew.

"Thank you," she said quietly, her voice just as raspy as Matthew's.

Matthew slowly moved his arm and gently squeezed her unburned hand.


End file.
